The Rough Side Of Elwood
by Nastra1991
Summary: The Life of Arthur Read and his friends trying to deal with the harsh life in Elwood City's housing projects and trying not to get caught up in the madness. Content- Some swearing, mild violence, and minor sexual content (However, I will still try to keep it at a "T" rating)
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is my first time posting a story on here, I just want to see how this works out, if it goes as planned, I'll keep writing. Anyway, with the exception of a few characters, all the characters from Arthur belong to Marc Brown. Enjoy. **

"Ay man, pass the ball!" yelled Buster

I passed the ball to Buster and he shoots it right into the basket and we win.

"OOOOOHHHH! We got you!" I shouted in excitement.

"Ha, we won!" yelled Buster "You owe 20 bucks, man."

The other team reluctantly gave us our money.

"This ain't over yet, so don't be feeling yourself too much" said Shawn as he walked away.

"Ha, whatever man" Buster said as he counted the money.

"Yo Bust you did yo think today man!" I said

"Couldn't have done it without you, Arthur." He said as he gave me dap.

Me and Buster sometimes earned money by playing ball against other cats in the neighborhood. On Saturdays, we may play one or two games and usually earn around $40. The most we ever made in one game alone was $110, and the most from two games were $150, but rarely does that happen.

"Yo man, we have our usual $40" Buster said smoothly.

"And as usual, we split it." I said.

"You my number one G, Arthur, if I gets mines, you gets yours."

And with that, he gave me my cut.

"Hey, we should go to Micky D's, what you say?"

"That'll be cool-" Then I stopped for a second, I looked at my watch and realized I was gonna be in trouble.

"Aww man, I gotta go Bust, I forget I was supposed to do something for my mom."

"That's cool, I don't want you to get in trouble. Peace." He said as he gave me dap.

"See ya!" And then I ran off.

I ran all the way down the street and the people I passed look at me as if I done stole something.

"What's with up that kid?"

"Hoodlum!"

"That little roughneck must have been stealing."

I heard some of them say as I sped pass them.

Typical adult behavior, always thinking every little kid is up to no good, when it was really the grown folks that were causing all the chaos in our neighborhood. Ok, I'm exaggerating; there were bad kids and teens who contribute to the craziness at times.

But, I ain't even worried about that now, I gotta deal with my mom when I get home, she was gonna be real mad, and when she got mad, Dad gets major piss, I didn't need to deal with all that. I got near a back alley, which was a shortcut to my building. I didn't always like going that way because junkies, gangs, and homeless people tend to lurk back there. They will jump you for whatever you got, just so they can get their fix or whatever. My friend George almost got jumped by Binky and his stupid gang once in an alley but, luckily got outta there unharmed.

I glanced at the alley, and it looked pretty safe…for now.

I ran all the way down there and get near the fence. I climbed up the fence, flipped over to the other side, and then climbed down. I was almost at my building. When I got inside, I saw the last person I ever wanted to deal with…**Binky Barnes**…


	2. Uh Oh

"Hey loser, I need to talk to you." Binky said

"Some other time man, I gotta go." I said as I was heading up the stairs.

"_Hopefully, there won't be a next time." _I thought.

Then I felt Binky grabbing the back of my shirt and shoving me into a corner. I was in total shock.

"Hey, man what's wrong with you?!" I said

"I said I needed to talk to you, you little punk!"

I knew I had to watch myself when it came to Binky. He was part of a gang called the Tough Customers. They were definitely not the kind of people you wanna to mess with. They did stuff like robbing, selling (and using) drugs, and fighting people. But, that was nothing compared to the real criminals they were related to. All the Tough Customers had at least one or two family members that was either locked up for severe crimes or were still running around free committing severe crimes. That was what people were most afraid of. These kids can easily complain to their screw up relatives and get an innocent person hurt, or worse…

"Come on, Binky. I'm sorry but I gotta go or else my mom's gonna get at me." I said cautiously

"I don't care about your mom and you ain't going anywhere unless I say so!"

"_I'm dead meat!"_ I thought

"Leave that kid alone you little hoodlum!" yelled a voice

Then Binky turned around and right behind him was Mr. Morris.

"What cha want, old man?" Binky said unfazed

Mr. Morris snatched Binky by his shirt and got right all up in his face.

"Listen you little dumbass, I know where the hell you live and I don't need you in my building harassing other people's kids, so you better get to stepping or you'll wish you would have listened to me the first time around." Mr. Morris said calmly and he shoved him to the side.

I ain't never seen Binky this quiet before. That definitely shut him up; I was trying so hard not to laugh at his scare-stricken face.

Before he left, Binky looked at me a bit shaken by the ordeal and said "I-I-I'll… deal with you later, Read!" and ran right out the building.

Mr. Morris was the Super of our building. He was a nice, older man that everyone respected very much. But, you sure didn't wanna cross him because he would definitely put you in your place. The gangs in the neighborhood knew not to mess with him, even Binky and his gang knew better than to come at Mr. Morris.

"You ok Arthur?" He asked

"I'm cool Mr. Morris. Thanks for defending me." I said politely

"It was nothing Arthur, I'm not afraid of Binky or his awful little click."

"_I wish I had your bravery." _I thought

"I gotta go Mr. Morris, my mom needs me."

"Ok Arthur, take care. Tell your parents I said hi."

"Ok."

I went upstairs, heading to my place, which was on the third floor. I was already dreading what was gonna happen when I get into my apartment. I took my key out, unlocked the door, and slowly entered my home. I quietly closed the door behind me. I didn't see anyone in the living room. Maybe they ain't here. Maybe I ain't gonna get in trouble after all. I entered the kitchen and got some juice out the fridge. I turned around and saw my mom right in front of me, look mad as hell.

"Arthur Timothy Read, you're in big trouble!"

Damn…


	3. The World is Yours

**A/N: All Lyrics are from Illmatic by the rapper Nasir Olu Dara Jones, 1994.**

"Arthur, didn't I tell you to come home by 2:15 P.M., it's almost 3:00 P.M." my mom said irritably

"This is the second time you have done this!"

"M-M-Mom, I'm sorry. I really am. You see what had happen-" I tried to explain myself

"Arthur, you know I have to run errands before I go to work and I needed you here watching your sisters."

"Mom, I said I was sorry, I wasn't trying to-"

Mom just sighed.

"We'll discuss this later. I'm going to have to do my errands on Monday. I have go straight to work today."

"I'm sorry" I kept saying

"_Maybe she'll cut me some slack." _I thought

"Give me a kiss." She said

I did what I was told. While I was glad she wasn't too mad, I knew it wasn't over, she was definitely not gonna forget. But, for now, I'm ok.

My sisters D.W. and Kate came out of their room.

"Bye mommy." They both said and then gave mom a hug and kiss

"I'm out. You know the rules, Arthur. Your dad will be home in few hours. Love you."

And with that she shut the door behind her.

Kate went straight to the living room and started watching Tiny Toon Adventures.

My and D.W. were still in the kitchen. I went into the fridge again to get some brownies. I offered her one and nodded and then I asked Kate and she said yes and then ran to get hers and went right back to watching cartoons.

"What took you so long, Arthur?" D.W. asked "Mom was straight up getting worried."

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize the game was gonna be so long." I said as I ate my brownie

"Hopefully, she'll forget and you won't get in trouble." She said thoughtfully

That's what I liked the most about D.W. Even though, we got on each other's nerves, she was cool and very understanding. She was pretty mature for a seven-year-old, well as mature as a seven-year-old could be. Both of my sisters were cool but Kate was only three, so she didn't know any better and that was fine by me, she doesn't need to know. Me and D.W. know the deal, we're closer in age, so we tend to converse with each other more. If something was bother me or vice versa, we talk it out.

"Also, I crossed paths with Binky's monkey looking butt when I got here."

"Binky, as in Binky Barnes? I can't stand him and his creepy friends, he scares me Arthur. Please tell me didn't try to hurt you." D.W. started trembling in fear.

"Mr. Morris was there so I escaped unharmed." I said and then took a sip of my drink

"_Otherwise, I would have had my ass kicked by now." _I thought

I hugged D.W. to keep her from being scared, and she started to whimper.

"D.W., it's gonna be ok, ain't nothing gonna happen to you or Kate, I'm your brother remember?" Then I laughed to keep her from crying.

"I just don't want anything to happen to you." She said

"Go watch some time with Kate, D.W. It'll make you feel better. I'll be in my room, just holla if you need me."

"Ok." She said.

And with that I went straight to my room, I was tired as hell. I had even adventures for today.

I took my Air Jordans off and turned my CD player on and started playing _Illmatic _by this new cat called Nas. I could definitely relate to Nas very much, he came from QueensBridge Housing projects, which was the largest housing projects in the U.S. Listening to this guy and knowing that I'm not alone in the hardship and that you can rise above it, put a smile on my face. This guy was not just a rapper he was thought-provoking poet.

_Whose world is this?_

_(The world is yours, the world is yours)_

_It's mine, it's mine, it's mine…_

I sighed.

I wished the world were mine right now…

…_I sip the Dom P, watchin Gandhi til I'm charged  
Then writin in my book of rhymes, all the words pass the margin  
To hold the mic I'm throbbin, mechanical movement  
Understandable smooth shit that murderers move wit  
The thief's theme, play me at night, they won't act right  
The fiend of hip-hop has got me stuck like a crack pipe  
The mind activation, react like I'm facin time like  
'Pappy' Mason with pens I'm embracing…_

I could listen to this all day…I went under my bed and grabbed my safe, which I used to put my money I earned from basketball games. I put the money I earned today inside, closed it, and then slid it back under my bed.

…_To my man Ill Will, God bless your life  
"It's yours!"  
To my peoples throughout Queens, God bless your life  
I trip we box up crazy bitches aimin guns in all my baby pictures  
Beef with housin police, release scriptures that's maybe Hitler's  
Yet I'm the mild, money gettin style, rollin foul  
The versatile, honey stickin wild, golden child  
Dwellin in the Rotten Apple, you get tackled  
Or caught by the devil's lasso, shit is a hassle…_

So far, I have nearly four hundred bucks, I just gotta keep saving and maybe one day I can get out of this hell hole ghetto. I shouldn't have to be struggling and fearing for my life every damn day. I shouldn't have to worry about shots ringing out and hoping to God no bullets enter our home, which was how one of my friends died. I shouldn't have to worry about crackheads trying to harass me and my friends in the hallways of our buildings or the streets. I shouldn't have to worry about the cops assuming I done stole something, just cuz I was from the ghetto. And lastly, I shouldn't have to worry about gangs like Binky and his crew trying to hurt me. I just wanted to live in peace…fuck this place, fuck this ghetto…the only good thing about this place was Mr. Morris and his job of trying to make this damn place bearable, but even then he had his limits, the HUD had limited funds, but really they didn't give a damn about us ghetto people.

I lie in my bed and closed my eyes as Nas continued to play…

_Yea aight?  
To everybody in Queens, the foundation  
"It's yours!"  
The world is yours_

_To everybody uptown, yo, the world is yours  
"It's yours!"  
The world is yours  
To everybody in Brooklyn  
Y'all know the world is yours  
"It's yours!"  
The world is yours  
Everbody in Mount Vernon, the world is yours  
"It's yours!"  
Long Island, the world is yours  
"It's yours!"  
Staten Island, yea the world is yours  
"It's yours!"  
South Bronx, the world is yours  
"It's yours!"  
Aight_

To everyone in Elwood…the world will be yours…

To Arthur Read…the world will be yours…one day it will.


	4. Mr Charles

D.W. was right. Mom basically forgot about me being late on Saturday. I ain't gonna be punished.

It was Monday morning, April 25, 1994. I was trying to get ready for school.

"Arthur, breakfast is ready."

"Ok Mom."

I don't know what I was gonna wear. I had the choice between Levi overalls with a red t-shirt or just Hilfiger multi-color shirt with black jean shorts. I just chose the latter and quickly got dressed, put my Air Jordans on, grabbed my backpack, and then headed to the kitchen.

Everyone was already at the kitchen table chowing down.

"Mornin' Mom and Dad."

I gave them both a kiss.

"Morning Arthur." They said.

"Morning Arthur!" My sisters said.

"Morning"

I sat down and started to grab some toast, bacon, and eggs, and then I scooped up some grits and then I started to gobble up my food. I was mad hungry.

"Arthur, don't eat like a pig." My mom scolded.

My sisters started laughing.

"Sorry mom, I'm straight up hungry and this food is good. You always make the best meals." I said charmingly.

"Yeah, you do mommy" Kate said.

D.W. nodded in agreement.

"Arthur's right honey, I wish my cooking was that good." Dad said and then gave her a kiss.

My mom just smiled.

"Ewww!" My two sisters exclaimed.

I just smiled and looked on.

My Dad got up from the table, took his plate, and then put it in the sink.

"I got to get some shut eye. I have to go to work at 6:30P.M."

Dad sometimes worked at night and he had to get lots of sleep.

"Bye Dad." Us kids said.

Dad walked into the bedroom him and mom shared and closed the door behind him.

I ate the last of my eggs and then finished my meal with some orange juice. My mom took our plates and started to clean up. I quickly put my backpack on and started to head to the door.

"Oh Arthur, sweetheart, I need you to take D.W. to school with me, I have take Kate to the babysitter and unfortunately the place goes the opposite direction of D.W.'s school and not only that I have to go straight to work afterwards."

"Ok mom, come on D.W., hurry up."

"_Great, now I gotta take D.W. to school, and mom knows me and her don't go to the same school. Hopefully I won't be late." _I thought.

D.W. tied her shoes and grabbed her backpack.

"Bye mommy! Bye Kate!" She shouted.

"Bye." I simply said.

"Bye babies, be safe."

Then me and D.W. left.

We were almost out the building until Mr. Charles appeared out of nowhere and blocked the doorway.

"_Oh great, now I gotta deal with this shit again."_ I thought.

Crazy ass Mr. Charles was at it again, drunk as hell, and now he's gonna be beggin' for some money out of me. If I don't give him something, he ain't gonna budge and then me and D.W. was gonna be late because of this fool. Dude did this shit every week and I really wished he would step off and go elsewhere.

"HHHHHHHey YYYYYYoungblood. You ggggggot some cccccchange to spare for Mr. Charlesssssss." His speech was slurred.

D.W. was clinging to my arm for dear life. I gotta be careful, people who were drunk or high as hell can be very unpredictable.

"Sorry sir, not today. Now you would excuse me, me and my sister gotta go to school."

I tried to push dude aside and despite being drunk (and maybe disoriented) he was still too strong for me to pass by.

"W-w-w-w-wait the minute, son. If yyyyyyyyou ain't got no mmmmmmoneyyyyyy, I can't let you goooooo."

"Aww come on man." I tried to suppress my anger. "I gotta go, I'll give you some money later".

D.W. was still holding on to me.

"Please let us go." D.W. said.

"NNNNNNoooooooo cccccccchange, No exit, Youngblooooooooood." He said.

"Charles, get your crazy, drunk ass out this building or I'll throw you out, literally."

Me and D.W. turned around, it was Mr. Morris.

"_Thank God."_ I thought.

"Hey partna, I was just playing wit the kids, we don't need no violence." He started to move away from the door.

"Partner my ass now get out of my building!"

Dude ran out like it was nobody's business.

Mr. Morris patted both our heads.

"He didn't hurt y'all did he?"

We shook our heads.

"Ok then, run along now, I don't want y'all to be late for school."

"Ok, thanks Mr. Morris!" me and D.W. said.

"Be safe." He said as he waved.

This was gonna be a long day.


	5. Meet my homies

I dropped D.W. off to her school and then I quickly headed to the nearest bus stop. My school was kind

of far away. I looked at my watch and I was relieved, I had plenty of time to get to school.

"_Thank God"_ I thought.

While I waited on the bus, I take my walkman out and started listening to Souls of Mischief's song "'93 Til Infinity". I'm listening to the music, bopping my head, and not giving a damn about nothin' going on around me.

_Yeah, this is how we chill from 93 'til__  
__This is how we chill from 93 'til__  
__This is how we chill from 93 'til__  
__This is how we chill from 93 'til__  
__Uh-huh, this is how we chill from 93 'til__  
__This is how we chill, from 93 'til__  
__This is how we chill from 93 'til__  
__This is how we chill.. from 93 'til_

The bus finally arrived. I got on, paid my fare, and sat down.

_Yo, crews are jealous cause we get props  
The cops, wanna stop - our fun, but the top__  
__Is where we're dwellin, swell and fat, no sleep  
I work fit and jerks get their hoes sweeped__  
__Under their noses, this bro's quick  
Yo hit blunts and flip once I'm chillin cause my crew's close, kid_

I looked out the window and was daydreamin'. Like Garfield used to say, "I hate Mondays". Mondays were so annoying to deal with…I wish the weekend can hurry up and get here.

Suddenly, I felt someone tapping my shoulder. I turned my head and saw that it was Buster.

"Yo what's up Bust?"

"Nothing, man just being myself. Did you ever get home on time on Saturday?" He asked as he sat next to me.

"Naw man, my mom did get upset but quickly dropped it." I said smoothly.

"That's cool."

"So, how's your moms?" I asked.

"She's ok but I wished she would stop trippin' and break up with Harry."

Harry was Buster's Mother's on again, off again boyfriend. They stayed arguin' with each other and stuff, well at least every time I was at Buster's apartment they were.

"She's always talkin' about how he's no good and stuff and yet, she's still with him. Me, personally, I don't have a problem with Harry, however, if two grown ass people can't deal, they need to keep it moving."

I nodded in agreement.

The bus stopped and a few more people got on, some I recognized instantly.

George, my other friend, was the first to get on the bus.

"Sup George!" I said.

"Hey George!" Buster followed.

"Hey Arthur and Buster."

George was a quiet and laid back kind of dude. Some people had clowned him because of his encounter with The Tough Costumers and running away. But, everyone knew not to mess with them and George knew it also. He wasn't gonna be dumb enough to get his ass beat. George lived in another housing project on the other side of Elwood City but he was usually on our side of town often, mostly because he attended the same school as me and Buster and hung out with us at times.

The next person who entered the bus was Francine. Even though she was cool sometimes, her temper and bad attitude is straight up annoying though. Every little thing always bugged her and then if you said something about it, she would get mad at you. And don't even try to play any kind of sport with her, if she lose, she be mad, if she won, she would still be mad. That girl got issues. I'm glad she don't live in my area.

"Hey Francine!" Me and Buster exclaimed.

"Hey…" She said as she quickly passed us to sit in the back of the bus.

"What's her problem?" I asked

"You that's Francine for ya." Buster said.

I was just shaking my head.

Lastly, there was Brain. His real name was Alan but most people call him Brain because he's hella smart. He gets all A's in all the work we do in class, which amazin' cause our teacher Ratburn ain't a easy teacher to deal with. Brain stayed makin' weird gadgets and inventions and stuff, me and Buster thought he'll be the modern Albert Einstein one day, that's if he (and me and other kids) get out of the ghetto. Brain lived in the same building as Francine, I pity him.

"Hey Brain!" Me and Buster shouted.

"Hello friends, what's new?" Brain asked as he on the other side across from us.

Brain is the only kid in the ghetto that I know that spoke proper English. We sometimes have to remind Brain to be careful cause some folks would think he was tryin' to be uppity and they'll beat you up for that shit. Lucky for Brain, it hasn't happened. Well, at least not yet.

"Yo Brain don't be speakin' all that proper shit, you know how crazy people get." Buster said nervously.

"Oh yeah, sorry. So what's the business y'all?" He said with awkward pride.

Me and Buster giggled. Sometimes it was funny when he spoke slang.

"Hey, I tried, man." He said as he shrugged.

"Yo, I wished I didn't have to go to school, I hate being there." Buster groaned.

"School ain't that bad, just do what you suppose to do and you'll survive." I said.

"Arthur's right Buster. School isn't all that difficult, assignments, tests, and projects are the only things to worry about. Aside from that, we have clubs and sports, that's pretty fun."

"Ahh come on Brain, school is only easy for you and Arthur cause yall get good grades."

"Yeah, but in order to recieve good grades, you gotta study, Buster. You can't just get them." I said.

The bus stopped right in front of our school and all us kids got out and walked into the building.

Our school was ok and was one of the very few that were well established compared to others. But what made it difficult at times (and I'm not talking about the work) was these crazy ass kids that came from even worse housing projects than me and my friends did. Sometimes the school did look rather crappy, but our principal was trying to find a way to send those dummies to other school not destroy the place. As me and my friends walked inside the building, it was a little crowded, with a few kids running wild…typical shit.

"Yo look at that!" Buster shouted out as he pointed.

Some kid in Blue hoodie on (with Reebok Pumps which looked cool as hell) was tagging "Fuck this wack ass school" on the wall (actually it was really spelled like "Fuck Dis Wak azz Skool", illiterate dummy). He was almost done until Mr. Ratburn, our teacher, got a hold of him and that's when things went downhill from there…


	6. Do The Right Thing?

The kid with the Blue Hoddie turned as Mr. Ratburn got a hold of the kids arm.

"Young man, you do realize that you're vandalizing school property? You know this will get you suspended?" Ratburn said in an unemotional tone.

The Blue Hoodie kid just stared at Ratburn like some hardened thug for what seemed like forever and then finally said…

"Get your fucking hands off me." He murmured.

"You're going to the principal's office you little hoodrat." Ratburn said as he dragged the kid by his arm.

Me, Buster, and Brain were just standing there watching this all play out. All three of us knew that you don't mess with kids like that dude. He was definitely one of those kids that came from projects worse than ours.

"I ain't going nowhere!" The Kid shouted and with that he twisted away from Ratburn's grasp and punched him in his nose and next thing I knew the two of them were on the floor, struggling to overpower the other. Me and my friends were surprised although we had fights at least once a week, rarely did a fight between an adult and student occurred and when it did, it didn't last very long. This fight, however seem to go on longer than it should. I wanted to help Mr. Ratburn, but part of me was scared as hell because snitching was a no-no, inside and outside school. But, I couldn't let Ratburn go through that, no one deserved that.

I viewed my surroundings, some kids were scared and crying, while others were cheering on like that shit was some basketball game. And there it was my teacher fighting a kid that was less than 100lbs and about a foot shorter than him, yet this kid was a roughneck, he wasn't gonna stop. Buster and Brain were still in shock and seemed to be looking beyond the two fighting. I couldn't take it anymore, all the crying, the screaming, and cheering was making me nauseous, I felt so damn conflicted but I couldn't take it anymore, I had to go and find Mr. Hainny.

"I'll be right back you guys, I gotta go to the Principal's Office." I said to my friends as I ran off.

"But Arthur you know the code, if someone finds out…"

I was no longer within earshot to hear Buster but I already knew the deal.

My mind was racing, I felt like a dummy for doing this, if I got in trouble by snitching…I gotta get it out of head…maybe no one would know.

I finally made it to the Principal's Office, I'm banging on the door like a madman, sweating like crazy and looking from side to side to make sure no one saw.

Finally, the door opened and I saw Mr. Hainny in a not-so-nice mood.

"Yes young man? You got in trouble with the teacher and were kicked out of class?" He said in an uppity ass attitude.

I rolled my eyes; he assumes that every kid knocking on his door got in trouble. I guess I can't blame the guy though, still he knew damn well I've never been set foot in his rinky dink office.

"No, you need to come quick! Some kid and Mr. Ratburn are fight!" I said trying to not let my nervousness slip.

Mr. Hainny changed his attitude quickly.

"Where?"

"In the Hall, near the Entrance."

And with that he called for security (where the hell were they?) and ran off.

I just stood there in a dazed.

I hope I did the right thing…

**A/N: Hey I'm sorry it's been a while, I recently went back to school so yeah…LOL I'll try to post as much as I can. I don't want people to lose interest nor do I myself want to do so. I actually like this story very much. Please review/fav. Thanks. **


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